I find it disturbing that people are delinking critical and analytical thinking skills from reading, writing, and arithmetic.
I absolutely recognize the place that the Public Schools are in. I know the statistics. By all indicators, I should have been one of the statistics. But I wasn't. So there must be something that works, some combination of factors that created a winning situation for me. I grew up working poor, my Mother worked full-time, yet she still made so little money that we qualified for food stamps and free lunch. I am a person of color (there you go, strike two), and I am gay (YOUR OUT!). In addition, I worked at least 15 hours a week from the age of 15 through the remainder of high school. Those factors should have combined (according to Mpls Public School statistics) to create a losing formula. Yet, because I had relatively small class sizes, teachers that were invested in my EDUCATION (not just job-training output), and, for some time, a community elementary school that allowed my single-working Mom to at least show up for parent teacher conferences, I managed to not only graduate from Patrick Henry, but to excel while there. Indeed, I believe that in order to be able to develop critical thinking and analytical skills, you have to be able to read, write, and do simple math. Forgive me though, if I have higher expectations of what I want for the students of Minneapolis. I absolutely believe that one of the reasons the school board has failed to make real change is that the members of the school board (and most candidates) tend to have little faith in the abilities of our students. The Board of Education needs to be a visionary body grounded in reality. We need to look at the place we are, dream of the place we should be, and then engage in a long range strategic planning process to get us there. If our schools and our students are going to succeed, we need to develop long term partnerships with parents, teachers, neighborhood associations, the Park Board, non-profit organizations, and government organizations. We need to have a viable growth plan, and we need to focus on strong community schools with engaged parent and community participation in those schools. (side note, yes I am in favor of community elementary/middle schools, while maintaining open enrollment for high schools). I absolutely recognize the place that the Public Schools are in. I know the statistics. By all indicators, I should have been one of the statistics. But I wasn't. So there must be something that works, some combination of factors that created a winning situation for me. I grew up working poor, my Mother worked full-time, yet she still made so little money that we qualified for food stamps and free lunch. I am a person of color (there you go, strike two), and I am gay (YOUR OUT!). In addition, I worked at least 15 hours a week from the age of 15 through the remainder of high school. Those factors should have combined (according to Mpls Public School statistics) to create a losing formula. Yet, because I had relatively small class sizes, teachers that were invested in my EDUCATION (not just job-training output), and, for some time, a community elementary school that allowed my single-working Mom to at least show up for parent teacher conferences, I managed to not only graduate from Patrick Henry, but to excel while there. I believe that as we are teaching students to read, we should be teaching students HOW to read (and part of the how to read is to teach students to think about what they have just read). We need to be asking students from the earliest ages the questions of what, when, who, why, and how. When we teach students to write, we need to make sure that we are teaching students how to write and not just the mechanics of writing. I do not believe that schools are simply factories for mass producing workers for the world. I believe one of the rolls of the school system is to give students the basic abilities they will need to survive in the "working world," but I also believe that schools are training grounds for a productive, intelligent, analytical, and involved citizenry. I haven't given up on young people, and I haven't stop believing in real education. We need a Board of Education that is willing to be visionary instead of always being reactionary. We need a Board of Education that is willing to take risks, rather than risking the futures of young Minneapolitans. -Brandon Lacy Campos -Powderhorn Park [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, April 22, 2002 9:50 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Mpls] Re: Questions for School Board Candidates/Members W. Brandon Lacy Campos wrote: <snip> >Theoretically, I would indeed support such a course in the >Minneapolis Public Schools. I believe that the basic role of >education is to teach individuals to think critically and >analytically. <snip> Considering that the majority of MPS students don't finish high school, and that most who do can't read at an adequate level, don't you think you're putting the cart before the horse here? Whether we have an Industrial Age, Information Age, or an Aquarian Age school system, we're not getting our money's worth for the $10,000+ we're spending per student. I suggest that first you focus on turning out students who can read, write and do simple arithmetic so the kids have some rudimentary job skills. This shouldn't take twelve whole years of schooling, and if done early enough ought to leave you plenty of time to teach critical thinking, to say nothing of giving students enough basic science, art, and literature so they have some material and background to base their critical thinking on. Meanwhile, since the building's on fire it seems rather silly to be talking about whether we should spend the next paycheck on scented candles or chandeliers. Kevin Trainor GOP Candidate, HD 61A East Phillips _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
